


Okay

by cocacolavevo



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:47:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28062663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cocacolavevo/pseuds/cocacolavevo
Summary: Zelda often finds herself waking up with tears un her eyes due to night terrors, and Link always seems to help her, but the morning after a particularly bad one, he wakes up to see she's missing.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Chose the teen rating just because I personally wouldn't recommend a child reading this, not because there's anything like. Bad. I finally mustered the courage to make a short story vs just a bunch of one shots so... here we are. This is post-BOTW and I tried my best to keep it spoiler free for safesies.

It was hot. Burning hot, and slimy. Gross squishing sounds and intense glowing that wouldn't dim no matter what. It surrounded her, too close for comfort, never seeming to diminish as she once again tried to keep her hold, the heat emanating from her hands being the only thing more obnoxious enough to keep her attention. The malice surrounded her, it had for years now... but it seemed off. The pulsating seemed more aggressive. Her focus slipped. A mistake. The growling she had grown familiar with roared again, and the malice got closer, fiercer, closing in tightly, burning her skin when-   
  
-she woke up with a scream.   
  
Zelda was breathing harshly, like she had been suffocating. One of her hands had gone to her neck, while the other gripped the bedsheets tightly. Her face was wet, she had been crying in her sleep, and she was so warm, she had been sweating, too. Her fingers lifted from her skin, and moved to brush her hair out of her face. It was sticking to her, and she ended up needing both hands. Meanwhile, she could feel her eyes filling with tears once more, and she accepted them, now sobbing as silently as she could in the bed.   
  
Her shriek had woken up Link, who was in the other bed near the top of the staircase. Truthfully, there wasn't much room for 2 beds, but they made it work. He sat up immediately, blinking fast as he tried to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness. His hands moved quickly to push the covers off of his body, and he slipped out of the bed, rushing over to her side, "Zelda, Zelda it's okay, I'm here, I've got you."   
  
His hand met her arm, and she didn't hesitate before leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his body tightly, as if she couldn't afford to let go. Her face was hidden in his shoulder, a wet spot staining his shirt in the process. Quiet sobs were all one could hear.   
  
Link pulled her to him, bringing her to sit in his lap as he rested his head against hers, one of his hands rubbing small shapes into her lower back, while his fingers on the other hand ran through her hair, soft "shhh" sounds escaping his lips.   
  
This wasn't the first night something like this has happened. Ever since he had rescued her she had awful nightmares and terrors that kept her from sleeping. 100 years fighting alone would do that to a person.   
  
She clung to him, her hands gripping onto the fabric of his nightshirt as she cried. Her breathing was fast, and it felt like it was getting caught in her throat. She tried to stop the tears from falling, she always tried, but never found out how.   
  
Link held her as tightly as he could, slowly and carefully adjusting himself until the two of them were laying down on her bed. He placed a small kiss on her forehead, doing whatever he could to reassure her, make sure she knew she was safe, that he wasn't going to let her get hurt again.   
  
Eventually, Zelda could feel her body aching for sleep again, as much as she dreaded it. But Link was there, he would protect her, just as he had many times before. With her eyes still wet, the princess felt her body slowly drift away into a slumber again, her breaths returning to a normal pace.   
  
Link tried to study her face as he gently pulled the overs over their bodies, never stopping his fingers from parting her hair over and over again, trailing along her back in the process. He knew this wouldn't be the last time she'd wake him up, but he didn't mind it, really. He still saw himself as her appointed knight, as much as she told him he didn't have to anymore. He'd do anything for her, especially comfort her when her dreams seemed to harm her.   
  
Soon, he felt a yawn coming along, which told him that he should join his princess in slumber. Keeping his hand rested on the small of her back, he closed his eyes with a tired sigh, and soon drifted off into the land of dreams.   
  
***   
  
He was the last to fall asleep, and the last to wake up, of course. Zelda was missing from the bed, which wasn't unusual, she was always the early riser. But she wasn't downstairs either, which <span;> _was_ <span;>unusual. She never left the Hateno house without making sure he knew where she was going first. He pulled himself to his feet, shaking the sleep from his eyes as he stumbled to put proper clothes on, wanting to find her, worry filling his body as he practically jumped down the stairs, skipping the option for breakfast as he bounded out of the house, glancing around quickly, before running across the bridge into town.   
  
But she wouldn't be there.


	2. Chapter 2

She was by the horses, on the side of the house, sitting on the ledge, staring down at the small pond with her knees tucked into her chest. When she woke up, her hair was a mess, and her face felt strange, with all of the tear stains against her cheeks. She managed to slip out of Link's arms without disturbing him, and didn't bother changing out of her night clothes before heading out the door.   
  
But before she did... she had grabbed a knife from the kitchen. It was laying on the ground beside her. Her eyes kept leaving the pond to glance at it, and then she would glance at her hair, before looking back at the water. It was a cycle that repeated a few times. She heard the front door open, and Link's footsteps get farther away.   
  
"Now why wouldn't you see if I took my horse..." Zelda murmured, sighing a little as she leaned against the house, suddenly hyper aware of her hair touching her arms and flowing in the slight breeze. The princess shut her eyes tightly, and inhaled sharply, before resting her chin on her knees.   
  
With the occasional sound coming from a horse, and the wind blowing the leaves, Zelda thought she had finally managed to ignore the thought of her golden locks, but it was then that a few strands of it slipped from behind her ear, startling her and making her jump a little.   
  
She couldn't take it anymore. Zelda jumped off the ledge, grabbing ahold of the knife handle, her hands trembling slightly as she gripped it tight, and she stalked away from the horses, standing out in the small clearing, over looking the small forest and valley below.   
  
She could feel her eyes growing hotter again, unable to stop the tears from coming to her eyelids, and with a few blinks, those drops slid down her face.   
  
With her free hand, Zelda hesitantly grabbed onto her hair as if she were to pull it into a ponytail, but never did. She stood still for a second, thinking over what she was about to do. There wouldn't be any major consequences, it was just hair, but what if she didn't like it? What if it was a mistake? What if-   
  
Before another question fogged her mind, Zelda bit her lip and raised the knife, slicing away at the golden hairs. She could feel them tearing as she pulled and pushed, more tears falling from her green eyes as she started to move the blade back and forth. Her hair was thick, stubborn even, and it didn't want to be cut easily. She kept going, knowing it probably looked ridiculous. Hair wouldn't do as you asked. It would be uneven when she let it fall. She didn't care.   
  
Zelda kept cutting at it until her arm fell loose, gripping onto the ends what was once connected to her. A few strands got away, floating in the breeze, getting farther and farther away. She dropped the knife beside her and grabbed onto the freshly cut off hair with her free hand, her fingers sliding in between tufts of it as she sobbed, her entire body trembling as she stood there.   
  
"...da... elda... Zelda!" Footsteps on top of old wood came within earshot. Link had returned. When he saw her standing there, holding onto her hair... he ran faster than before, wanting to get to her quickly.   
  
She carefully turned her body to face him, visibly shaking, her face streaked from crying, "L-Link..." she whimpered as he grew closer, "I don't, I don't know what happened, I-"   
  
"Hey, it's okay, you don't need to explain," he pulled her into an embrace, "you're still safe, I've still got you, and we can talk about this later, if you'd like."   
  
She nodded against his shoulder, her hands falling down, but her grip never loosening, "I want to bury it."   
  
"Your hair?"   
  
Another nod.   
  
"Of course, my princess."   
  
She needed a few more minutes, breathing in his scent and waiting for her heart rate to slow down, before she were to dig the hole and cover the hair. Link retrieved the shovel for her, and she dug a small hole in the ground, by the edge of the cliff, before stuffing the blonde ponytail into the dirt, shoving the dug up mud back over it, wiping her face when she finished.   
  
She turned her head to face him, "how bad does it look?"   
  
He tilted his head, squinting slightly, "it... could be better. The sides are uneven lengths and its all choppy..."   
  
"Do you think you could fix it?"   
  
"I can certainly try, Zel. Anything for you," he gave her a confirming nod, before picking up the knife from the ground, "I'll be using scissors though, not this," a small smile found home on his lips as he offered her his free hand.   
  
She gladly accepted it, a similar smile appearing on her face as she was led back to the house, "I feel better... I truly think I needed to cut it..."   
  
Link stops in his tracks and turns his body slightly to look at her.   
  
She meets his eyes, giving his hand a big squeeze, "I needed to let go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't the longest short story, but alas, it is a SHORT story. I hope you all enjoyed. I figured it was time to write BOTW Zelink, as they're one of my favorites. Maybe I'll write more of them soon, with there now being a prequel and plenty of interactions between them.


End file.
